• while walking to his new school, james shook his head to clear it. normally after a fight he could go through a hunt, go to school, and do it in a good mood. then again, he did just fight with angel. and fights with angel typically had the opposite effect on him.
    all because she'd been born with a little more telepathic skill than the rest of the pack. all because he'd gotten the place of second in the pack because of his hunting and fighting skills. and that he was good friends with the alpha and all she'd ever be was his obsessive ex-girlfriend. all because angel hated james.
    but right now was not the time to think about his angel problem. now was the time to focus on acting like a normal high schooler and keep the secret. hopefully they could stay here for a few years.
    it was a nice little town, lots of nice people. lots of hunting grounds. if angel and a few of the newer kids could excercise a little self control, everything would be fine.
    by now james was on the school grounds. he stopped to let a blue pickup carrying a couple of teenagers into the parking lot. a boy and a girl, probably boyfriend and girlfriend.
    avoiding eye contact like a new kid normally did, james made his way to his new locker to drop off some off his new supplies and from there, his homeroom.
    after talking to the teacher for a few minutes, he realized that he'd left his pencil bag in the locker and started out the door. he never made it out the door.
    not paying attention, james ran into someone. the girl from the blue pickup was his only thought before their eyes met. after that every thought was history, gone from his mind.
    one of her arms was holding onto her books. she was tall, almost as tall as he was. her long dark brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her eyes were a brilliant green. and were still staring into james' as if she could see through him, into his soul.
    and there was a strange feeling in his stomach. he wasn't sick but the feeling was there all the same. and he'd never felt it before today.
    "uh, hi. i'm anne. sorry i, uh, ran into you." she was holding out her free hand and sounded nervous. their eyes never left each other.
    coming back to his senses, james reached out to take her hand. the second he did, the feeling in his stomach intensified.
    "i'm james, the new kid." obviously he was new. jeez. in a small town like this a new kid must be rare and obvious. stupid, stupid, stupid.
    "well if you need..anything, feel free to ask." with that she walked away, finally looking away from his eyes. he watched her walk to her desk with a short, energetic girl following her, talking nonstop. he noticed her ears were slightly pink. is she blushing? why would she be doing that?
    class started at that time. he tried to remember if the teacher had told him where he was sitting and failed. those green eyes had driven all attempts at a thought away. anne's eyes...the feeling was still in his stomach, although it had receded a bit when anne had walked away from him.
    james didn't have to worry about where he was sitting for long. the teacher introduced him to the class and then pointed him to his seat. as soon as he sat down, he realized he was right behind anne, who was apparently trying to ignore that fact. and james could'nt have ignored her if he'd tried. the whole class period was spent daydreaming about anne and when his focus was on her in a way that nothing could penetrate the bubble he was in, listening to her thoughts, which were mostly focused on the lesson. otherwise (much to his pleasure) she was just as focused on him as he was on her.
    when anne slipped and thought about james, it had an interesting effect on both of them. she'd apparently had this daydream already, although with a different boy. her and james were holding each other in the gymnasium during an upcoming dance. then anne tilted her head up and her lips met james's.
    at that point anne snapped back to attention. focus, anne!! she was mad at herself for losing focus and thinking about james. and james was mad at himself for eavesdropping on her thoughts and daydreaming about her. stop it! remember the guy in the pickup? that's most likely her bf and she probably wouldn't break up with him for me or anyone else in the world. no way that could happen. the idea hurt him badly but it was true.
    the bell rang signaling the end of homeroom and everyone headed for the door. anne was one of the first ones out with her friend following her, talking again. james caught his name as they left the room, causing his heart to speed up in a way that only happened when he was hunting or fighting. enough! he wrestled with himself, the feeling in his stomach, and his other reactions to anne the next two periods, stopping only when he caught her scent or the faint echo of her thoughts. and the fourth period arrived and james met lucas